Welcome Today's Featured Author
L. E. Maguire!!
Starting Over (Hart of Seattle, #1)
Ella Martin was
devastated by the events surrounding her divorce. Determined to start
over, she relocates from New Jersey to Washington to be a
photographer with her longtime friend, Renatta. Having been
emotionally scarred by her ex-husband’s betrayal, Ella didn’t
believe she would ever be able to trust another man again. Then she
met Xavier Hart, a successful CEO of an investment firm. She soon
discovers that she cannot resist the dangerously handsome Xavier. But
her struggles with her intense jealousy and trust issues start to
clash with his controlling tendencies. As their relationship
develops, she discovers the reason for his controlling nature over
her and his desperate need to keep her safe. When her ex-husband
suddenly relocates to Washington, her past and present collide in a
dangerous way.
New Beginnings (Hart of Seattle, #2)
Ella Martin,
having overcome a devastating divorce, quickly found herself
caught-up in a whirlwind romance with Xavier Hart, a charismatic and
successful CEO of an investment firm.
As their romance quickly blossoms towards a more serious commitment, Ella tries to come to terms with her fear of getting hurt. While Ella struggles to realize if her love for Xavier is greater than her fear of another husband betraying her, her ex-husband, Stephen, is still deviously lurking in the background.
When Stephen gets involved with someone else, Xavier is not convinced that he no longer poses a danger to Ella. Xavier’s struggle with his need to keep Ella safe only intensifies.
When strange events surrounding Ella start to take place, Xavier believes his suspicions of Stephen are warranted, and he will do whatever it takes to keep Ella safe. But is Stephen really the one who is conspiring against them or is there another who is working maliciously to destroy them? The love story of Ella and Xavier that began in Starting Over concludes in New Beginnings.
As their romance quickly blossoms towards a more serious commitment, Ella tries to come to terms with her fear of getting hurt. While Ella struggles to realize if her love for Xavier is greater than her fear of another husband betraying her, her ex-husband, Stephen, is still deviously lurking in the background.
When Stephen gets involved with someone else, Xavier is not convinced that he no longer poses a danger to Ella. Xavier’s struggle with his need to keep Ella safe only intensifies.
When strange events surrounding Ella start to take place, Xavier believes his suspicions of Stephen are warranted, and he will do whatever it takes to keep Ella safe. But is Stephen really the one who is conspiring against them or is there another who is working maliciously to destroy them? The love story of Ella and Xavier that began in Starting Over concludes in New Beginnings.
Picture Perfect
Ember Whitfield
was well on her way to living the life she always envisioned for
herself. She received her degree in photography from a prestigious
New York university. Her best friend, Jake, was her roommate and
photo assistant. And after fleeing the tough competition of New York
City for Seattle, she had high hopes of being able to obtain her
dream as a professional photographer. But most importantly, Ember was
perfectly single. And after having dumped her not-so-perfect,
philandering boyfriend, Ember planned on staying perfectly single.
But as Ember soon discovers, things don't always go as
planned.
Ember’s assistant secretly enters her in a local contest, winning her a gallery showing. She's hopeful this will get her and her work quickly noticed. While out celebrating her impending show, Ember gets hit on by the most annoying, arrogant man, who is also the most attractive man she’s even seen. He’s tall, built, and ruggedly handsome. He's perfect, but he's also not part of her plan.
After landing a photo shoot for a popular fashion magazine, in strolls the up and coming male model, Evan Ryan James. The perfectly annoying, arrogant, gorgeous man from the bar. Evan had been immediately captivated by Ember, but after getting her heart broken by her former philandering boyfriend, Ember vowed she would never get involved with another model again. But Evan isn’t going to take no for an answer. He believes he found the perfect woman in Ember, and he is determined to make her see it. Just as Ember starts to let Evan in, both of their careers take off. Soon, their tenuous relationship is quickly put to the test when they are both pulled in different directions by the high demands of their jobs.
Ember’s assistant secretly enters her in a local contest, winning her a gallery showing. She's hopeful this will get her and her work quickly noticed. While out celebrating her impending show, Ember gets hit on by the most annoying, arrogant man, who is also the most attractive man she’s even seen. He’s tall, built, and ruggedly handsome. He's perfect, but he's also not part of her plan.
After landing a photo shoot for a popular fashion magazine, in strolls the up and coming male model, Evan Ryan James. The perfectly annoying, arrogant, gorgeous man from the bar. Evan had been immediately captivated by Ember, but after getting her heart broken by her former philandering boyfriend, Ember vowed she would never get involved with another model again. But Evan isn’t going to take no for an answer. He believes he found the perfect woman in Ember, and he is determined to make her see it. Just as Ember starts to let Evan in, both of their careers take off. Soon, their tenuous relationship is quickly put to the test when they are both pulled in different directions by the high demands of their jobs.
Picture Perfect Excerpts
Excerpt One
(When Ember first meets Evan at the
bar)
I tried to get Blondie’s attention so
I could get more water, but she was studiously ignoring me.
“I think you broke her heart after
she watched you grind all over your boyfriend on the dance floor,"
said a smooth, deep, male voice.
I rolled my eyes with irritation and
turned in the direction of the voice that just spoke. Gearing up to
verbally slap him with some sarcastic comment, I froze when my eyes
made contact with a tan, chiseled chest peeking out from under a deep
purple dress shirt, which had the first three buttons undone. There
was a light smattering of dark hair over his sternum that lead up to
the hollow of his throat and the smooth, tan skin of his thick neck.
Dark stubble ran along a strong jaw. He had a perfect mouth with full
lips, a prominent nose, and high cheekbones. I sucked in a breath
when my eyes met the greenest eyes I'd ever seen. They were
luminescent with light green flecks shining like brilliant malachite
stones. These eyes were so hypnotic and surrounded by long, dark
lashes. Thick, dark brows, a proud forehead, and thick, wavy dark
hair finished off his perfect features. He was chiseled to
perfection. I couldn't help but stare open mouthed at him.
Suddenly, his lush lips curved into a
smile revealing perfect, white teeth, and that's when I saw them. Two
of the deepest dimples I've ever seen carved into his cheeks. Oh. My.
God. Dimples.
"See something you like?" he
asked sounding cocky, running a hand down his chest.
And just like that he killed all the
warm and fuzzy feelings that were bubbling up within me. It was as if
the growing fire deep within my core just got doused by a bucket of
ice water.
“Seriously? He's not my boyfriend,”
I snapped in irritation.
He raised his brows. "You could've
fooled me."
"Not that it's any of your
business, but he's like a brother to me."
He cocked a brow at me. “Do you
always dance like that with your brother, because I'd be more than
willing to take you on as a sister."
He smiled and there were those damn
dimples again, winking at me, taunting me. His green eyes twinkled
with humor, and it felt like a thousand butterflies just took flight
in my stomach.
Excerpt Two
Stopping before the door to room 462, I
took a deep breath, reached up, and knocked twice as instructed. It
was a moment before Evan answered, but when he finally did, holy
hell, my jaw hit the floor.
Wearing nothing but a white towel
wrapped around his waist, his dark hair slicked back from a shower,
he gave me a half smile and invited me in.
Not two steps into the room, he grabbed
my arm, spun me around, and shoved me face first into the door. My
palms stung as I quickly slammed them against the door trying to keep
my face from slamming into it.
Evan’s warm body quickly pressed up
against mine before I could move, pushing me harder into the door.
His hands came up and rested next to mine, caging me in. Fresh from a
shower, he smelled of his usual spicy cologne, which was
intoxicating.
“I’ve been thinking of nothing but
being buried deep inside of you ever since you stopped me earlier.”
Closing my eyes, remembering our encounter, my breathing spiked. “All
afternoon, Em, I’ve had to hold myself back. I felt like an
alcoholic tied up with an open bottle of booze just out of my reach.
I could see you, smell you, but I couldn’t reach out and touch you
or taste you,” he growled in my ear.
About L. E. Maguire:
L. E. Maguire is an independent author who is a born and bred Jersey Girl currently living below the Mason-Dixon line.
She is an avid reader with a passion for romance novels. When she's not reading, you can usually find her writing.
Starting Over (Hart of Seattle, #1) was her first published novel on July 27, 2013. Her second novel, New Beginnings (Hart of Seattle, #2), is the second and final in the Hart of Seattle series, and was published on December 31, 2013. Her third release, unrelated to the first two, Picture Perfect, was published on April 7, 2015.
She also has a special love for photography, football (sharing an equal passion for both the NY Giants and the Seattle Seahawks), and all things vampire.
- Can you tell us a little about your books?
My
first two books, which are a series, were strictly contemporary
romance. At the time, I felt certain things should be left to the
reader’s imagination. My third book, which is unrelated to the
first two, is spiced up. But I like to write about people that
reader’s can easily relate in realistic situations and I enjoy
using real locations. So far, all of my books take place in Seattle,
so I’m really looking forward to the day I can visit there and see
all the places I’ve written about.
- What book did you enjoy writing the most?
I
loved writing New Beginnings. It’s the second book in my Hart of
Seattle series and a lot happens that brings everything that went on
in the first book to a close. There are also quite a few supporting
characters and there is more interaction with them in this book. I
also loved writing the epilogue and the bonus chapter from my lead
male’s POV.
- Which book is your most recent released?
Picture
Perfect is my most recent release and it’s hard to believe that in
April it will be one year since it’s release.
- Where do you get your ideas?
Ideas
can come from anything really. For example, the idea for my current
work in progress came to me while I was at an Avenged Sevenfold
concert. I felt pretty foolish pulling my phone out in the middle of
the concert to quickly take down notes.
- What do you do when you are not writing?
When
I’m not writing, I’m usually reading or busy pimping and
promoting my books on Facebook and Twitter. It’s not easy being the
writer, publisher, and promoter. But I’m also an amateur
photographer and I really enjoy landscape and nature photography. I’m
usually carrying a camera with me everywhere I go.
- Do you ever experience writer’s block?
I
do, sometimes. I find mindless tasks usually help the most, such as
puzzles or those knotted fleece blankets, which I enjoy making.
Something that keeps me busy but doesn’t require a lot of thinking
usually helps.
- How did you choose the genre you write in?
I
write within the genre that I love to read in, romance.
- Do you have a favorite spot to write?
I
don’t, really. I have a home office and most of my writing takes
place there, but I also love to write at my local Starbucks. There is
something about the smell of coffee that gets the creative juices
flowing.
- What are you working on next?
I’m
working on two stories right now. The first will be a novella. I was
scheduled to participate in a Valentine’s anthology, but that got
cancelled. My story was more than half done when that happened so
I’ll put it out on my own. It’ll be my first novella. The working
title is My Sweet Valentine. It’s about a national bestselling
romance writer who keeps to herself, but is always admiring her
gorgeous neighbor across the hall. With many women coming and going
from his place at all hours, she labels him a manwhore and
immediately writes him off. But when he invites himself to dinner one
afternoon as a huge snowstorm hits, she quickly learns why you should
never judge a book by its cover.
My
other work in progress is titled, Unthinkable; A Dark Tendencies
Novel. This is the story that came to me while I was at the A7X
concert. It’s about Randee, who is a professional photographer
working at a leading rock magazine. She gets the assignment she’s
been waiting for; spend the summer on the road with the hottest heavy
metal band currently in the country, Dark Tendencies. She has an
intense connection with the lead singer, Alec, who has all the
qualities of a successful front man, which has also made him the
heartthrob of heavy metal despite the fact that he’s married. But
after spending time with them on the road, Randee has her suspicions
that their marriage isn’t all that it seems. When one night of
drinking results in two heartfelt, drunken confessions, Randee
decides to share information that could change their lives forever.
Here’s
a little excerpt that gives you an example of the intense connection
that exists between Randee and Alec.
“Hey!
Stop messing with my camera,” I said, unable to keep the annoyance
out of my tone. After watching him for several minutes, I feared he
was going to mess up my settings.
He
froze with the camera in his hands, snapping his eyes up to mine.
“Why?” he asked, shrugging his shoulders. “Don’t you think I
can handle it?” he asked with a raised brow.
Playfully
narrowing my eyes at him, we stared each other down for several
seconds. “I don’t know. That’s a pretty expensive and delicate
piece of equipment,” I said, trying to fight the smile that so
desperately wanted to spread across my face at our playful teasing.
“Well,
I happen to have a lot of experience with delicate equipment,” he
said huskily.
Images
of him bedding several girls flashed through my mind. “Yeah, I bet
you do,” I said, shaking my head at him. “But how about
complicated pieces of equipment with a lot of buttons?”
Setting
my camera down, he shuffled his chair closer to the table and leaned
in, pressing his beautifully tattooed forearms on the glass tabletop.
“I prefer complicated. I like the challenge,” he said, narrowing
his eyes at me. “As for having a lot of buttons, I usually know the
right ones to push to get the response I want,” he said, finishing
in a whisper.
His
suggestive words in that husky voice of his had me so turned on, I
was fighting to keep my breathing even.
“Are
we still talking about my camera?” I whispered. Holding me captive
with his intense gaze, goose bumps raced across my skin, as he
imperceptibly shook his head no.
Squeezing
my thighs together, I tried to gain some relief from the ache that
developed deep within me. It didn’t help that Alec was looking at
me like he was ready to dive across the table and take me right here
for all to see. Not that I would mind, and I certainly wouldn’t
fight him.
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